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Introduction
Many project managers, after passing their PMI Project Management Professional (PMP) certification exam,
find it difficult to apply the principles of the PMBOK® Guide (A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge,
3rd Edition) when managing their projects at work. That’s largely because using the PMBOK® Guide as the basis
for real-world project management requires a different approach than memorizing information and situational
questions.
Defining a practical and effective project management process is a daunting task for any organization; however,
basing the process on a recognized and stable project management standard, such as the PMBOK® Guide, makes
the task easier…if the standard is used appropriately. The current PMBOK® Guide offers a wealth of detailed
project management knowledge that can serve as an excellent basis for building a project management process
from the ground up, but its complexity can be an obstacle in defining a project management process in a simple,
straightforward manner.
Also, for all its strengths (and there are many), you must remember that the PMBOK® Guide is structured as a
reference manual, which can sometimes make it cryptic and confusing. Its purpose is not to provide a road map
with a clear “start to finish” pathway for a project, but rather to provide a checklist of what you should consider
during the journey, based on accumulated knowledge of what’s been recognized as being “best practices.”
At Learning Tree, we believe that for the best results, you should take your academic knowledge of the PMBOK®
Guide, mix it thoroughly with your own project management experience, sprinkle in the types of projects that are
done in your organization and then create a customized approach for successfully accomplishing projects in your
own work environment.
• High quality content focusing on essential project management knowledge and practices that
are “generally recognized as good practice for most projects, most of the time”
• Defining and describing proven skills, tools and techniques targeting delivery of acceptable
and consistent project results
• A common project management language and approach for project managers and their
organizations to use
Ultimately, this deeply detailed approach presents users with a two-dimensional view of what successful project
managers must do regardless of the type of project they are working on, arrayed across nine knowledge areas
and five process groups.
On the other hand, the PMBOK® Guide has some inherent challenges that impact successful implementation of
its contents. While it is a highly regarded, comprehensive ANSI standard that defines the discipline of project
management, it is organized like a project management reference manual describing what might be done, versus
a gate-driven project management road map. Typically, we define a project management process in an organization
by focusing on who does what activity when. This is in conflict with the primary focus of the PMBOK® Guide,
which is to provide details and options for doing a specific thing. Therefore, this lack of milestone and gate-driven
control points is a serious gap that must be addressed when defining a project management process.
In addition, when using the PMBOK® Guide in order to create management processes, you must build them with
their detailed inputs, outputs, tools and techniques into a useful set of activities and deliverables that fit your
projects and your organization. The necessary steps are:
1. Identify the required results, deliverables and milestones for your projects.
2. Build a set of activities to be done to achieve these results.
3. Support your process with deliverable templates, techniques and checklists
showing how necessary activities are performed.
Most projects do not require the full complement of 44 processes from the PMBOK® Guide in order to be completed
successfully; therefore, your job is to prioritize and select those that will be essential for your projects…and skip
the rest! This scalability extends to the detailed inputs, outputs, tools and techniques for your selected processes.
It is absolutely possible to build a gate-driven project management road map, populated with half the 44 PMBOK®
Guide processes, and still use it to get your projects done effectively and efficiently on a consistent basis.
Once you have the core processes mastered and in place, you can then consider the remaining PMBOK® Guide
processes, scaling and tailoring them as needed for the types and sizes of projects you are working on in your
organization.
We hope you find this streamlined Learning Tree approach helpful in overcoming the common challenges faced
when using the PMBOK® Guide as the basis for a practical project management process in the workplace.
Learning Tree International annually trains over 90,000 professionals in its Education Centers around the world.
Learning Tree also provides training in a number of additional cities and on site at customer locations in 26 countries.
For more information about Learning Tree products and services, call 1-800-THE-TREE (1-800-843-8733),
or visit our Web site at www.learningtree.ca